Recorder ink supplying apparatus

ABSTRACT

The recorder ink supplying apparatus is provided with an ink bottle stationarily mounted and being capable of pressurizing ink, an auxiliary tank mounted on the movable pen-carriage of the recorder and having splash baffles permitting free circulation of the ink within the auxiliary tank but preventing splashing or waving action with resulting bubbles, a relaying tank mounted on the cantilevered pen arm for sucking the ink from the auxiliary tank by capillary action, and a recording pen mounted at the end of the arm cantilevered from the pen-carriage and supplied with ink from the relaying tank. Ink pressure fluctuations within the auxiliary tank on the pen-carriage caused by the deformation of the flexible hose between the ink bottle and auxiliary tank during rapid movement of the pen-carriage are compensated for by trapped air above the ink level in the auxiliary tank, to effectively form a pressurized surge tank. The relatively small capillary relaying tank provides a ready ink supply for the pen that does not materially change in weight, so that the pen pressure will not change due to ink consumption.

United States Patent [1 1 Kurimoto et al.

[451 Nov. 6, 1973 1 RECORDER INK SUPPLYING APPARATUS [75] Inventors:Kozo Kurimoto; Sosuke Watanabe;

Hiroyasu Uchida, all of Katsuta, Japan [73] Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.,Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: May 12, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 252,671

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 21, 1971 Japan 46/34061 May28, 1971 Japan 46/36238 52 us. 01. 346/140 51 Int. Cl. G0ld 15/16 58Field of Search 346/140 [56] References Cited" UNITED STATES PATENTS2,223,541 12/1940 Baker 401/226 3,083,689 4/1963 Hegener 346/1403,150,915 9/1964 Dixon et a1. 346/140 3,327,315 6/1967 Felton....346/140 3,441,950 4/1969 Miller 346/140 Primary Examiner-Joseph W.Hartary Att0rney-Thomas E. Beall, Jr.

[5 7 ABSTRACT The recorder ink supplying apparatus is provided with anink bottle stationarily mounted and being capable of pressurizing ink,an auxiliary tank mounted on the movable pen-carriage of the recorderand having splash baffles permitting free circulation of the ink withinthe auxiliary tank but preventing splashing or waving action withresulting bubbles, a relaying tank mounted on the cantilevered pen armfor sucking the ink from the auxiliary tank by capillary action, and arecording pen mounted at the end of the arm cantilevered from thepen-carriage and supplied with ink from the relaying tank. Ink pressurefluctuations within the auxiliary tank on the pen-carriage caused by thedeformation of the flexible hose between the ink bottle and auxiliarytank during rapid movement of the pen-carriage are compensated for bytrapped air above the ink level in the auxiliary tank, to effectivelyform a pressurized surge tank. The relatively small capillary relayingtank provides a ready ink supply for the pen that does not materiallychange in weight, so that the pen pressure will not change due to inkconsumption.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Pmtmwmv 61975 3.771.155

FIG. 20 H6. 30 FIG. 40

RECORDER INK SUPPLYING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention generally relates to recorders having a recorder pen suppliedwith ink from a reservoir or source, and particularly to an improved inksupplying apparatus for the recorder pen.

The well known recorder will record input information with a permanentink record by moving a recording pen in correlation with the input forrecording this movement on a recording paper, which also usually moves.It is conventional to supply the ink to the recording pen from an inkbottle through a small diameter, slender tube,

In a conventional recorder, the ink bottle is provided apart from therecording pen that is supplied with ink from the bottle. The ink issupplied to the pen through capillary action of the small diameter,slender tube extending between the bottle and the recording pen. Whilesuch a system had proved to be quite acceptable in the past, recentlyhigh speed recording has been 're-, quired for the recording pen, withrecording speeds of 1,000 mm/sec being realized. As the recording speedis increased, difficulties with the slender tube that extends betweenthe recording pen and the ink bottle developed due to the shaking and/ordeformation of the tube throughout its length, particularly at itsopposite ends wherein it is connected respectively to the movablecarriage and stationary ink bottle. This high speed action has causedthe supply of ink to pause temporar-' ily. Further, negative pressuresoccurring within the slender tube by extension and contraction thereofwill change the ink pressure within the tube so that ink may be returnedfrom the pen to the ink bottle. As a result of all of the above, the inkrecord will many times pause or be interrupted and become thin, so thata perfect and fine record cannot be obtained.

As a solution, it has been suggested that the ink bottle be directlyprovided on the pen-carriage of the recorder without using a flexiblesmall diameter, slender tube between relatively moving parts. With sucha construction, the ink bottle andthe ink contained therein become aload against the balancing motor for driving the'pen-carriage to greatlyincrease the inertia, which isquite disadvantageous at high recordingspeeds wherein the carriage must reverse directions and acceleraterapidly. As a partial solution to reduce the inertia of the ink bottleand ink contained therein, the ink bottle has been greatly decreased instorage capacity to correspondingly increase the response speed, whichnaturally has the effect of reducing the capacity of the recording,which requires frequent filling of the ink bottle. Further, since'theink bottle is mounted directly on the pen-carriage and subjected to allof its movements, the ink within the bottle will vibrate, splash and thelike during movement of the pen-carriage. As the recording speed rises,theink will be shakened and splashed a corresponding increased amount toaccordingly produce many bubbles and fluctuation of the pressure of theink at the outlet of the pen. These bubbles and ink pressurefluctuations will cause the record to pause and become thin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toovercome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art by'providing a new ink supplying apparatus particularly suited to highspeed recording that will not have the above-mentioned disadvantages andwill satisfactorily supply ink to the recording pen under high speedoperation without producing interrupted and thin recording lines.

Advantageously, the pen-carriage is provided with an auxiliary reservetank supplied with ink from a stationary ink bottle, with the auxiliarytank having means therein, particularly baffle plates, for reducing thesplashing and wave action of the ink within the auxiliary tank.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide a relayingmeans, particularly on the cantilevered pen-carrying arm for feeding agood supply of ink to the pen by capillary action, without materiallychanging the load' on the arm as ink is consumed.

While the flexible small diameter tube between the stationary ink supplyand auxiliary tank on the movable carriage will produce surges and rapidchanges in ink pressure, particularly during high speed recording, thesepressure fluctuations will not reach the pen due to the construction ofthe auxiliary tank that provides for ink pressurization with a trappedair volume within the auxiliary tank, so that the same functions as asurge tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will become more clear from thefollowing detailed description of the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial, somewhat schematic perspective view of anembodiment of an ink supplying mechanism for a recorder according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2a is a partial cross section and perspective view of an auxiliaryreserve tank used in the embodiment of FIG. 1; 7

FIG. 2b is a perspective view of the baffle plate within the tank ofFIG. 2a;

FIG. 3a is a partial cross section and perspective view of anotherembodiment of an auxiliary reserve tank to be used in place of the tankof FIG. 2a'within the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3b is an end view of the baffle'plates of the tank according to theembodiment of FIG. 3a;

FIG. 4a is a longitudinal cross section view of the relaying means ofFIG. I; and

FIG. 4b is a perspective view of the internal capillary member of FIG.4a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is specifically shown in FIG. 1, for its particularadvantages, although it is realized that the invention may take .on manydifferent forms. As shown in FIG. 1, a large capacity ink storage orsupply bottle 1 is suitably mounted on any stationary portion of therecorder that is convenient. An outlet of the ink bottle 1 is fluidconnected to a resilient wall, preferably rubber, pump 3 having anatmospheric vent aperture 3a on the top thereof. A metallic or otherrigid pipe 5 is mounted to the auxiliary tank 11 is connected to arecording pen 15 by a slender tube 17 through a relaying tank 19.

The auxiliary tank 11 is fixedly mounted on the movable pen-carriage 21by a mounting fixture 23. The pointer or cantilevered pen-arm 25 isattached at one end, preferably pivotally, to a rod 27 of thepencarriage 21. The pen 15 is carried at the outer end of the arm ofpointer 25. Further, the ink relaying tank 19 is mounted on thecantilevered arm or pointer 25 closely adjacent the pen 15. A guide arm29 extends through correspondingly formed holes or bores in the two sidewalls of the pen-carriage 21 to allow reciprocation of the pen-carriage21 along the axis of the guide member rod 29. A cable, tape, string orthe like 31 is connected at its opposite ends to the pen-carriage 21 anddriven to reciprocate the pencarriage 21 to the right and left, asviewed in FIG. 1, along the guide member 29. The cable or the like 31 iswrapped several times around a drive shaft of a balancing motor 31 to bedriven thereby according to input signals received by the balance motorto be recorded. The cable 31 is further guided around pulleys 35 and 37to direct its force generally along the axis of the guide rod 29, whichpulleys are rotatabiy mounted on the stationary portion of the recorderalong with the balancing motor 33. In a conventional manner, recordingpaper 39 is preferably fed away from the pen 15 by a sprocketed feedroll 41 according to a desired variable, for example, time or otherinput. The basic recorder structure of means for feeding recorder paper,a movable carriage, a pen and means for driving both the carriage andthe paper feed may be of any type to function in combination with theink supplying means of the present invention.

The auxiliary ink tank 11, which is one of the particularly importantfeatures of the present invention is shown in partial cross section andperspective in FIG. 2a in the position that it assumes in FIG. 1. Asshown, the auxiliary tank 11 is completely closed except for its inkinput pipe 9 and its ink output pipe 13, which latter pipe is only shownin FIG. I. The partition or baffle plate 43 is within the auxiliary tank11 to prevent wave action, splashing and the like of the ink within thetank as the movable carriage reciprocatesalong the guide rod 29,particularly at high speed; In the auxiliary tank embodiment of FIGS. 1,2a and 2b, the partition or baffle plate 43 is constructed of flat sheetmaterial, preferably metal, that is bent to form one or more, two beingshown, vertical walls or baffle plates, and horizontal spacing portions,which properly locate the vertical baffle plates within the tank. Thevertical baffle plates or partitions extend generally from side wall toside wall perpendicular to the axis of the guide rod 29 to divide theauxiliary tank 11 into a plurality of chambers. Further, upper and lowerholes or apertures 43a are formed in the baffle plates to allow ink totravel from one chamber to an adjacent chamber, but with a dampingaction. Of course, more holes may be provided at the top and bottom,'orthroughout the plate if desired, without changing the function of theplate as a fluid flow restrictor or baffle.

The auxiliary tank 11 may be constructed according to the embodiment ofFIG. 3a, with the outer cylindrical tank being closed at both ends andprovided with fluid access only by means of the previously describedpipes 9 and 13, respectively the inlet and outlet for the ink. As inFIGS. 2a and 2b, the interior of the tank 11 is divided into a pluralityof chambers by means of a partition or baffle member having a pluralityof baffle plates 45 uniformly spaced along and carried by the generallycentral rod 47. Each of the baffle plates 45 has a cut-out portion 45aat its top and bottom, substantially diametrically opposed or apart fromeach other with respect to the center of the plates, as seenparticularly in FIG. 3b. Other configurations for the holes may beprovided if desired, that is holes may be provided at other peripherallocations around the plate or a plurality of holes may be providedwithin the confines of the outer perimeter of the plates. In any event,the holes in the plates 45 will allow restricted ink flow betweenadjacent chambers to provide a damping action for ink pulsations orwaving motion produced by vibrations and movement of the carriage,particularly during high speed operation.

The operation of the elements described above is as follows.

When it is desired to use the recorder, the aperture 3a is shut orclosed with the operators finger and the rubber pump 3 is compressed, sothat a pressure will be applied to the ink within the bottle I. Thispressure will move ink through the flexible slender tube 7 from the inkbottle 1 to the auxiliary ink tank 11. However, the

ink thus pumped to the auxiliary tank 11 will not completely fill theauxiliary tank 11, due to the extension of the outlet pipe 13 partiallyinto the tank, so that air will be trapped under pressure in the upperinner portion of the tank 11. Although the pen-carriage 21 will be movedback and forth along the guide rod 29 as driven by the balancing motor33 according to the input to the motor, the ink within the auxiliarytank 1 1 will not splash, slosh or the like to any great extent due tothe operation of the baffle plates 43, 45 within the tank that willdampen such ink movement. The ink will travel through the restrictedpassages apertures or holes 430, 45a between the various chambers formedbetween the baffle plates, which baffle plates are transverse to thedirection of relative movement of the pen carriage. As a result, bubbleswill not be produced in the ink that would otherwise find their way tothe pen and adversely affect the ink recording line. Further, since thetank 11 is mounted on the pen-carriage and not mounted on thecantilevered pointer arm 25 it will not have any effect upon thepre'ssurebetween the recording pen 15 and the recording paper 39, eventhough the volume of ink within the auxiliary tank 11 will changeconsiderably, with a resulting change in weight. Furthermore, thetrapped air space in the upper portion of the auxiliary tank 1 1 willabsorb the negative pressure and pressure fluctuations caused by thedeformation, particularly the extension and contraction, of the slendertube 7, particularly in high speed movement of the pen-carriage 21.Thus, the pressure fluctuations caused by the negative pressure and theflexing or deformation of the tube 7 will not be transferred to the pen15, but will be absorbed by the air space that functions, with the tank11 as a surge tank. When the negative pressure occurs within the tube 7,the pressure acts on the ink sent from the bottle 1 so as to return itto the bottle 1 again. When this happens, the inner air space trappedwithin the tank 11 will tend to decrease its pressure so that the airwithin the tank 11 will resist such negative pressure within the tube 7.

A similar effect is also obtained with the tank structure as shown inFIGS. 3a and 3b. The partition 45 of this embodiment being constructedof a plurality of circular plates 45 connected by the rod 47 with spacetherebetween to form chambers. The plates 45 will form the chamberswithin the tank 11 quite similar to those formed by the baffle plates 43of FIG. 2a. It is contemplated that further modifications of thepartitions or baffle plates may'be employed without departing from theteachings and scope of the present invention.

- To further facilitate the supplying of ink to the pen 15, a relayingtank 19 is provided in fluid circuit between the auxiliary tank 11 andthe pen 15. The detailed construction of this relaying tank 19 is shownin FIGS. 4a and 4b. The relaying tank 19 includes an outer casing havingan inlet and outlet, and an inner capillary member 49 that will causethe ink to travel through the chamber by capillary action. The member 49has a plurality of grooves as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, including aplurality of circumferential grooves 51 and an axial groove 53 providingfluid communication between the circumferential grooves. Thecircumferential grooves 51 are formed by opposed end flanges 49a andintermediate flanges 49b. The ink will be effectively sucked from theauxiliary tank 11 to the relaying tank 19 through the interconnectingtube 17 by means of capillary action resulting from the configuration ofthe above-mentioned grooves and their surrounding casing. If thediameter of the flanges of the member 49 is selected slightly less thanthe inner diameter of the cylindrical container or casing of therelaying tank 19, the ink will not completely fill the relaying tank 19and there will be a slight air space therein, which is to be seen inFIG. 4a at the top. This air space will have the same effect as thetrapped air space in the auxiliary tank 11, that is, the relaying tank19 will function as a surge tank with the trapped pressurized air spaceat its .top to absorb any fluctuations in ink pressure caused byvibrations and the like, particularly in the cantilevered pointer arm25. Further, the relaying tank 19 will always be filled to substantiallythe same extent due to the capillary action, even though the liquidlevel within the auxiliary tank 11 will fluctuate between pumpings andthe level within the ink bottle will decrease until refilled. Thus, witha generally constant amount of ink within the realying tank 19, itsweight and accordingly the pressure it produces between the pen l5. andthe recording paper 39 will not change. Also, the relaying tank isrelatively small and is easily mounted closely adjacent" the pen togreatly facilitate the feed of ink thereto. 1

Although the present invention has been described with respect to apreferred construction for purposes of illustration, which preferreddetailed construction has considerable advantages in its own right, itis contemplated that further variations, modifications and embodimentsmay be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ink supplying apparatus for a recorder that has a pen-carriagemovable according to input information and carrying a pen for producingan ink record on recording paper corresponding to the movement of thecarriage, comprising: an ink supply means for mounting on a stationaryportion of the recorder and for supplying ink under pressure; anauxiliary ink container having at least two ink chambers separated bybaffle means having liquid passages between said chambers substantiallybelow the ink level in said auxiliary ink container, for providing anddampening free two-way ink flow between said chambers; means formounting said auxiliary ink container on the movable pen-carriage of therecorder; first means for providing fluid communication between said inksupply means and said auxiliary ink container to supply said auxiliaryink container with ink under pressure from said ink supply means; andsecond means for providing fluid communication between said auxiliaryink container and the pen to supply ink to the pen from the auxiliaryink container.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said auxiliary ink containerincludes means forming a pressurized air space as it is partially filledwith 'ink under pressure from said ink supply means to absorbfluctuations of ink pressure in said first means for providing fluidcommunication between said ink supply means and said auxiliary inkcontainer. g

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said auxiliary ink container bafflemeans includes a sheet formed with tank wall engaging support portionsand at least one substantially vertical baffle plate wall generallytransverse to the direction of relative movement between thepen-carriage and stationary portions of the recorder; and said verticalbaffle plate wall having holes extending therethrough.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said bafi'le means includes atleast one plate extending generally perpendicular to the direction ofrelative movement between the pen-carriage and the stationary portionsof the recorder, and said one plate having at least two spaced apartholes allowing fluid communication through the plate. t

5. An ink supplying apparatus for a recorder that has a pen-carriagemovable according to input information and carrying a pen for producingan ink record on recording paper corresponding to the movements of thecarriage, comprising: an ink source; a relaying means including astorage tank divided into a plurality of parallel connected capillarypassages; first means providing ink communication between said relayingmeans and said ink source; second means providing ink communicationbetween said relaying means and the recorder pen; and said relayingmeans drawing ink from said ink source and supplying it to the penbycapillary action.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, including means for mounting said inksource on the movable carriage.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, including a pointer arm 4 cantilevered fromthe movable carriage and carrying the recording pen at its outer end;and said ink relaying means being mounted on the cantilevered portion ofsaid pointer arm closely adjacent the recording pen.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said ink relaying meansincludes means forming a pressurized air space within its interior whenit is drawing ink from said ink source and providing it to the recordingpen by capillary action to form a surge tank means absorbingfluctuations in ink pressure leading to said relaying means.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said ink relaying means comprisesan outer container and an inner capillary member formed with a pluralityof capillary grooves about its periphery.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said grooves include a pluralityof circumferential grooves and at least one interconnecting axialgroove.

11. An ink supplying apparatus for a recorder that has a pen-carriagemovable according to input information and carrying a pen for producingan ink record on recording paper corresponding to the movements of thecarriage, comprising: an ink supply means for mounting on a stationaryportion of the recorder and for supplying ink under pressure; anauxiliary ink container having at least two ink chambers separated bybaffle means having liquid passages between said chambers substantiallybelow the ink level in said auxiliary ink container, for providing anddampening free two-way ink flow between said chambers; means formounting said auxiliary ink container on the movable pen-carriage of therecorder; first means for providing fluid communication between said inksupply means and said auxiliary ink container to supply said auxiliaryink container with ink under pressure from said ink supply means; an inkrelaying means including a storage tank divided into a plurality ofparallel connected capillary passages; second means for providing fluidcommunication between said auxiliary ink container and said ink relayingmeans; third means for providing fluid communication between said inkrelaying means and the recorder pen; and said relaying means drawing inkfrom said auxiliary ink container and supplying it to 8 the pen bycapillary action.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said auxiliary ink containerincludes means forming a pressurized air space as it is partially filledwith ink under pressure from said ink supply means to absorbfluctuations of ink pressure in said first means for providing fluidcommunication between said ink supply means and said auxiliary inkcontainer; and said ink relaying means including means forming apressurized air space within its interior when it is drawing ink fromsaid ink supply means and providing it to the recording pen by capillaryaction to form a surge tank means absorbing fluctuations in ink pressureleading to said relaying means.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, including means for mounting said inksupply means on the movable carriage; a pointer arm cantilevered fromthe movable carriage and carrying the recording pen at its outer end;and said ink relaying means being mounted on the cantilevered portion ofsaid pointer arm closely adjacent the recording pen.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, including means for mounting said inksupply means on the movable carriage; a pointer arm cantilevered fromthe movable carriage and carrying the recording pen at its outer end;and said ink relaying means being mounted on the cantilevered portion ofsaid pointer arm closely adjacent the recording pen.

1. An ink supplying apparatus for a recorder that has a pencarriagemovable according to input information and carrying a pen for producingan ink record on recording paper corresponding to the movement of thecarriage, comprising: an ink supply means for mounting on a stationaryportion of the recorder and for supplying ink under pressure; anauxiliary ink container having at least two ink chambers separated bybaffle means having liquid passages between said chambers substantiallybelow the ink level in said auxiliary ink container, for providing anddampening free two-way ink flow between said chambers; means formounting said auxiliary ink container on the movable pen-carriage of therecorder; first means for providing fluid communication between said inksupply means and said auxiliary ink container to supply said auxiliaryink container with ink under pressure from said ink supply means; andsecond means for providing fluid communication between said auxiliaryink container and the pen to supply ink to the pen from the auxiliaryink container.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said auxiliary inkcontainer includes means forming a pressurized air space as it ispartially filled with ink under pressure from said ink supply means toabsorb fluctuations of ink pressure in said first means for prOvidingfluid communication between said ink supply means and said auxiliary inkcontainer.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said auxiliary inkcontainer baffle means includes a sheet formed with tank wall engagingsupport portions and at least one substantially vertical baffle platewall generally transverse to the direction of relative movement betweenthe pen-carriage and stationary portions of the recorder; and saidvertical baffle plate wall having holes extending therethrough.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said baffle means includes at least oneplate extending generally perpendicular to the direction of relativemovement between the pen-carriage and the stationary portions of therecorder, and said one plate having at least two spaced apart holesallowing fluid communication through the plate.
 5. An ink supplyingapparatus for a recorder that has a pen-carriage movable according toinput information and carrying a pen for producing an ink record onrecording paper corresponding to the movements of the carriage,comprising: an ink source; a relaying means including a storage tankdivided into a plurality of parallel connected capillary passages; firstmeans providing ink communication between said relaying means and saidink source; second means providing ink communication between saidrelaying means and the recorder pen; and said relaying means drawing inkfrom said ink source and supplying it to the pen by capillary action. 6.The apparatus of claim 5, including means for mounting said ink sourceon the movable carriage.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, including apointer arm cantilevered from the movable carriage and carrying therecording pen at its outer end; and said ink relaying means beingmounted on the cantilevered portion of said pointer arm closely adjacentthe recording pen.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein saidink relaying means includes means forming a pressurized air space withinits interior when it is drawing ink from said ink source and providingit to the recording pen by capillary action to form a surge tank meansabsorbing fluctuations in ink pressure leading to said relaying means.9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said ink relaying means comprisesan outer container and an inner capillary member formed with a pluralityof capillary grooves about its periphery.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein said grooves include a plurality of circumferential grooves andat least one interconnecting axial groove.
 11. An ink supplyingapparatus for a recorder that has a pen-carriage movable according toinput information and carrying a pen for producing an ink record onrecording paper corresponding to the movements of the carriage,comprising: an ink supply means for mounting on a stationary portion ofthe recorder and for supplying ink under pressure; an auxiliary inkcontainer having at least two ink chambers separated by baffle meanshaving liquid passages between said chambers substantially below the inklevel in said auxiliary ink container, for providing and dampening freetwo-way ink flow between said chambers; means for mounting saidauxiliary ink container on the movable pen-carriage of the recorder;first means for providing fluid communication between said ink supplymeans and said auxiliary ink container to supply said auxiliary inkcontainer with ink under pressure from said ink supply means; an inkrelaying means including a storage tank divided into a plurality ofparallel connected capillary passages; second means for providing fluidcommunication between said auxiliary ink container and said ink relayingmeans; third means for providing fluid communication between said inkrelaying means and the recorder pen; and said relaying means drawing inkfrom said auxiliary ink container and supplying it to the pen bycapillary action.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said auxiliaryink container includes means forming a pressurized air space as it ispartially filled with ink under pressUre from said ink supply means toabsorb fluctuations of ink pressure in said first means for providingfluid communication between said ink supply means and said auxiliary inkcontainer; and said ink relaying means including means forming apressurized air space within its interior when it is drawing ink fromsaid ink supply means and providing it to the recording pen by capillaryaction to form a surge tank means absorbing fluctuations in ink pressureleading to said relaying means.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, includingmeans for mounting said ink supply means on the movable carriage; apointer arm cantilevered from the movable carriage and carrying therecording pen at its outer end; and said ink relaying means beingmounted on the cantilevered portion of said pointer arm closely adjacentthe recording pen.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, including means formounting said ink supply means on the movable carriage; a pointer armcantilevered from the movable carriage and carrying the recording pen atits outer end; and said ink relaying means being mounted on thecantilevered portion of said pointer arm closely adjacent the recordingpen.